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POPSMultidimensional space through art Generally for the sake of the illusion of 3 Dimensions and perspective. There are plenty of artists beside Escher that represent multidimensional space, but he does a particularly good job of it. The last stereogram at the bottom is the thinker. I ran out of characters. (you can always go to the site.) Stereograms can be annoying sometimes when you can't see what it is, and everyone else can. It can be like that, then suddenly one day a picture can jump out. It can help if you know what you're looking for. One problem with these may be looking too hard, when the eyes are probably better off relaxing.
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POPSIncubator fields affect baby's heart rate. The heart ? No doubt it is going to be affected, but the brain seems like it is more at risk. The brain runs at a very low frequency - between 0, and 25 Hz in a natural state -compared to MHz, and kHz for radio, and GHz for a cpu, but as with the chords in music, a frequency higher up the scale can, amplify a note it harmonizes with somewhere else on the scale. Maybe there is a link between incubator EMR. and ADHD. A kid may not need Ritlin, they might need a tune up. If you want to know more about brain frequencies, wikki has a good summary in electroencephalograpy. Below is the url : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography#Wave_patterns
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POPSPraise or cash? Your brain doesn't care. If compliments don't work try flattery. Cash as a last resort. Praise is a lot more economical, and often a lot more productive. The main complication - anyone can pay cash, paying compliments can be a fine art.
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POPSGamers show Aspbergers traits They are not suggesting that aspbergers syndrome is caused by gameplay, but the similar symptoms may give researchers new insight into the mechanism of autism. No doubt the brain of a game player is having particular specific sections of the brain reinforced by the game play, leaving other areas to atrophy. The biggest difference may be, that the thoughts of an aspberger's syndrome sufferer can be a complete mystery. If you want to know what a gamer is thinking, you just have to watch them play the game.
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POPSSydney's stressed brains are shrinking There was another conclusion suggested for the reason those subjects from Melbourne had more 'grey matter' than those from Sydney, which was that the brains of Sydneysiders had eliminated unnecessary neural pathways, connections and links, so making their brains more efficient. There was also the possibility considered that another reason for the differences, is that Sydney brains were too mature to spend too much time thinking about sport. They didn't need as large an amount of gray matter to remember football scores.
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POPSCloned mice cells treat Parkinson's The cells came from the mouse used, and were accepted more easily. Embryonic stem cells are often said to be useful, because they don't have an identity yet, but the immune system can be hard to fool, and as every person has their own supply of stem cells, at different stages of advancement, . it makes sense to use cells that will be recognized. The field is only in it's early stages. While Embryonic stem cells seem to have had potential, there are no doubt cells that are just as pliable within each of us, and using them for any treatments, will mean a number of other problems wont have to be overcome.
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POPSRoyal jelly triggers queen genes I'm sure any beekeeper can tell you that a queen bee is just a worker that has been fed royal jelly, They wanted to study the process in more detail, because the principle is thought to work in other animals, including humans, and they were also trying to work out how to make 'clean' queens in an attempt to help repair the damage to the honey industry with what has become affected by something known as Colony Collapse disorder. They achieved the same results as royal jelly when they switched of a gene Dnmt3, which showed demetylization of DNA led to the development of certain traits. Studies continue, but in humans things like obesity,infertility, longevity, and brain disorders, are thought to be affected by the chemical effects on genes
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POPSBad luck at the Casino? Brame your brain. The idea is that bad gamblers are more likely to be bad at predicting risk. They also mention more research has to be done into the element of anticipation. I know there's the idea of being optimistic, 'being on a sure thing' 'Having the perfect system,' but the anticipation can be as much of a thrill as the win, and bad risks can be taken because the memory of the thrill of a win can be prominent, while a loss is something to be forgotten. You can't and wont avoid the thrill of winning, but losses are to be denied for any number of reasons. There are of course the official odds for example 1/2 red/black, but it's easy to forget the odds stay the same even after any number of consecutive matches. Then of course there is the fact that due to the amount of gambling in Hotels, and Casinos with public bars, many gamblers can be blind drunk, or at least be artificially optimistic. It's amazing how losing your shirt can aggravate a hangover.
0
POPSNanotech in food poses unknown risks
There are barriers between the us and outside world in the skin, between the digestive system and the bloodstream, and organs. The most crucial barrier, is the 'blood - brain' barrier which for example will only let molecules, such as sugars have access to the brain. one of the effects of this is the prevention of larger molecules, and particularly things like germs and viruses entering the brain, which cannot deal with the inflammation that is caused by the immune system fighting an invader. Nanoparticles in food can be of an unspecified size, and so there is the possibility, that they will go places they should not be, and are in fact dangerous. Some of the reasons food companies haven't tested, are that tests are expensive, they don't want to go looking for a problem with their new 'wonder' product in case they find something that is dangerous or that the public doesn't like, or because it didn't occur to them there was a danger. These days that's unlikely and certainly no excuse.
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POPSMoths remember life as a caterpillar Makes sense, The thing that they were testing for seemed like it would have become something like a reflex. A lot of the same things are dangerous. Why throw something you've learned away if it can keep you alive. The first thing I thought when I saw the story is that the body changes, but the heads seem to be similar, but of course appearances can be deceiving. .
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POPSSea cucumber makes hard plastic go soft and back again. It's amazing the number of discoveries we have made which have been described as great innovations, when nature has found a quicker and easier way long before us. Our destruction of the environment is destroying many of these examples before we find them. Nature has a remarkable way of working around problems, as the 'law of survival remains fundamental, and it has had hundreds of millions of years of field tests.
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POPSMind reading computer reads your cards They say it's like a magician picking your card. That is a trick. This is real. The actual chance of a computer picking the right card of 120 is 0.8% do that 120 times worst result of two was 72% I wonder how long before technology like this is used in things like the 'War on crime' perhaps 'thought crime' isn't far off. The way these technologies are advanced at great speed it can't be long and the definition of a 'crime' is bound to need revision. I hardly need to mention what uses 'National Security' may have for it.
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POPSIs the hobbit just a dwarf cretin ? It did live on an island Flores in Indonesia, and seaweed and seawater are high in Iodine, but giant rats, dwarf elephants,and Komodo Dragons also lived on the island. They may have eaten all of the seafood before the hobbits got any. Maybe we'll never know. Evolution does have millions of curious threads. I'm sure many people forget that while we have made it so far, Evolution hasn't stopped, and technology may give it some more curious twists which are directly related to us. If two machines get together and produce viable offspring, will that be a new species? Our definition of 'life' is in need of an overhaul. (Perhaps a bit beside the point, but it will be another one of our 'relatives') I was just reminded of something Mark Twain once said that applies to a point. "It's not change I'm against, it's change for change's sake" Let's hope we improve.
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POPSBionic implants raise ethical question What's the difference between a bionic ear, and an artificial leg, a kidney dialysis machine a heart valve or a breast implant ? They're all artificial substitutions. I have trouble finding the reason for anyone but the recipient to judge. As for the fear of 'superhuman' capabilities It is just a matter of taking the next step and substituting the brain. Then there's a robot/cyborg with absolutely no ethics, just a command chain, but a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. When is the public ever listened to anyway ? Perhaps we should ask a deaf philosopher.
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POPSRats whiskers quiver near garbage Quivering with anticipation ? They 'see' with their whiskers, and they haven't been able to catch them until they developed a video system that ran at 3200 frames a second. They also say that the part of the brain that is involved in whisker movement is damaged in schizophrenia patients, so study may help them understand it.
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POPSAggressive teens have mismatched brains It is said, as it has been said for a while, that 'Kids are growing up quickly these days' and the speed seems to relate to the rate of technological progress, but 'growing up' is a double edged sword. While many have a remarkable ability to understand computers, and recently developed innovations, and crack some of the most elaborate codes, to the point where earlier generations can't keep up with them, emotional maturity does not match this advance in a similar way, and may in fact be stunted by the preoccupation of the brain with technical knowledge. An important question is rising which concerns the development of both children and adolescents, where growth will establish the bases of adult physiology and understanding - the relationships between emotional intellectual and physical development, and how they are changing. Of course nothing will ever make puberty a cakewalk, but if parents and other adults are going to provide the best support. When, and when not to get involved?
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POPSTwo mums plus dad made this embryo There are embryos that are described as 'spare' It breaks my heart. It's experimental, with no guarantee of success, and the prospects for abuse by those with no scruples cannot be imagined. There are better ways of doing things, but, in the 21st century, life is a four letter word.
7
POPSAh! Why we scratch an itch I'm not really sure they really know exactly, but they have more of an idea what is happening in the brain, by comparing results from MRI scans.
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POPSDust, Air, Water Sources of Lead In the late1970 in the U.S. Lead was banned from Gasoline, and paint, amongst other things. While Atmospheric Lead levels were reduced, the Lead didn't just disappear, it just settled into the soil, and accumulated in other places. Lead was and is a common ingredient in many household and industrial products much of the time it's inclusion is either unknown or ignored. It is one of the poisons that effects Everybody - Rich or poor. Things like this accumulate at the top of the food chain - That is generally people. There is no cure.
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POPSLead Linked to Aging in Older Brains Once we absorb things like Lead, Mercury, Dioxins, Pesticides etc, they cannot be easily eliminated from the system, and can accumulate. Go and have a blood test looking for heavy metals, and toxic substances like dioxins, you may be shocked. Dioxins are in things like DDT (pesticide) Agent Orange (herbicide) Once they are in the environment they permeate the environment. They can be banned, but they will never go away - Some of them are refined Elements. That also includes depleted Uranium, and of course Chronic Lead poisoning (Gunshot Wounds)
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POPSEliminate poverty consciousness I remember in one of my first economics lessons, the Teacher said: "People have needs, and wants. It is the job of Advertising to convince people their wants are needs." That was in my first year of high school, and it stuck. One of the biggest problems can be the number of things we are certain we need when we only want them. In todays world we are told we need so many useless things- more than we can ever afford. So we go into debt. A loan is a millstone. When I take stock of what I need I'm not short. Not wanting something until you can afford it can take practice and patience, but then you own it. The bank doesn't own you. There is a lot more space in the cupboard. Saving for something gives time to consider the value of the purchase. These days if you save up for computer equipment, in the time it takes to save, the price is likely to have come down a few hundred dollars. We don't need everything 5 minutes ago. Forget the words 'Everyone else can afford it.' It isn'
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POPSGene therapy could ease chronic pain I wonder why they can't just inject people with endorphins. Or use the same genes to create the endorphins outside the body. Sounds like a sales pitch to get people where it hurts.
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